MovieChat Forums > The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022) Discussion > My take on the diverse casting

My take on the diverse casting

posted 2 years ago by alienzen (1931)
7 replies | jump to latest

When it comes to casting, I would rank the qualities of an actor in this order

1. Are they able to act like the character they are playing
2. Do they have range
3. Do they physically resemble the character they are supposed to be playing

I feel like most of the actors in the series tick the first box, despite not looking how they are supposed to look. So it is sometimes distracting, but I can live with it. The worst casting choice is a white fair haired woman who is playing Galadriel after all (although she is not as beautiful as she is supposed to be). The problem being that she acts like an unlikable bitch all of the time. On the other hand, all of the black hobbits act like hobbits, the black elf acts like an elf, the black Dwarf wife acts exactly how you would imagine her to act.

[–] papamihel (1616) 2 years ago

1. I suppose, although Cordova's Elf is extremely wooden. I liked Disa. Too bad that scene was straight out of a sitcom.
2. Hard to say at the moment.
3. In terms of the show creators' intent - 100%. In terms of "reality" of Tolkien's fictional universe, nope. But, frankly, at this point forced diversity is one of the smallest problems of the show.

[–] alienzen (1931) 2 years ago

I thought the same thing about Arondir, but after episode 3 I think he is more stoic than wooden.

[–] fc31 (6122) 2 years ago

There are more than one black hobbit, dwarf and human, you can see groups of them.

There is still just one black elf, which is weird, and still unexplained.

[–] randir14 (253) 2 years ago

It's not unexplained - there's a black Elf because of Amazon's diversity and inclusion initiative. And the more insidious aspect of certain people wanting to destroy what they view as wholesome and European works of art.

[–] joej2923 (3145) 2 years ago

I like your casting standards. Hollyweird has embraced inclusion standards so competency in one's craft is of secondary importance. Hiring people from underrepresented groups is the primary emphasis of most studios per the various standards linked below. I'm just concerned that Hollyweird is not trying to fight ageism or even sizeism.

https://press.aboutamazon.com/news-releases/news-release-details/amazon-studios-releases-inclusion-policy-and-playbook-strengthen

https://reimaginetomorrow.disney.com/assets/ABC-INCLUSION-STANDARDS-ONE-PAGER-6-16-21.pdf

https://www.oscars.org/news/academy-establishes-representation-and-inclusion-standards-oscarsr-eligibility

I liked the stoicism of the blackish elf Arondir but the overacting of the blackish dwarf Disa was quite annoying. I think I'm the only person who did not appreciate the blackish dwarf Disa. Blackish queen Miriel is quite attractive BUT I'm disappointed that the king is not around. I suspect that the king's absence is not explained by canon but I could be wrong. The harfoots are acting like indigenous tribes on a migration and I'm not okay with that. Tolkien had such lengthy poems/songs in his books while the show's harfoots are doing primitive call and response chants. Lenny Henry even had reeds in his hair during the celebration.

[–] alienzen (1931) 2 years ago

The fact that the diversity mandate came from the suits at Amazon, and not the showrunners probably explains why the show is quite good despite the weird casting priorities.

Tolkien didn't write anything about hobbits before the third age, so they have license to do pretty much what they want.

And I think the king was exiled in canon, because he was pro elf.

[–] joej2923 (3145) 2 years ago

I don't consider the first three episodes to be good but the show is beautiful due to all the money spent on costumes, sets and CGI.

It looks like the king was not exiled in the books and I don't believe there is any written record of Miriel acting as queen regent.

From the article below:

In the books, Palantir dies after a tumultuous reign, eventually being replaced by Miriel and Pharazon. The pair get married despite being cousins and Miriel is forced into marriage against her will.

https://www.gamesradar.com/lord-of-the-rings-the-rings-of-power-miriel-father-numenor/